STARKVILLE — Devon Bell knew his role was going to change before spring drills.
The Mississippi State senior kicker was one of the first to know Evan Sobiesk wasn’t going to return to the football team. Sobiesk kicked field goals the past two seasons. The decision left Bell as the front-runner to replace him this season.
“As soon as he told me that, I knew I had to probably get mentally ready for field goals,” Bell said.
After making 14 of 21 field goals as a freshman, Bell was 6 of 14 in 2013. His performance played a role in redshirt freshman Sobiesk taking over the field goal job. Bell settled in as the regular punter as the season wore on.
Sobiesk was 12 of 14 field goals last season and was poised to be the starter in 2015, but he opted to leave the team to attend dental school.
Bell accepted the challenge of being the team’s No. 1 kicker, and feels good now that fall camp is in full swing.
“I’m very comfortable,” Bell said. “It’s a role I’m really eager to take on because I feel like the team is going to need somebody this year. I’m stepping up.”
Bell broke the school record for most points by a kicker in a year in 2012 (85). He tied his season-long with a 47-yard kick against Northwestern in the Gator Bowl.
MSU coach Dan Mullen has confidence Bell can get back into the groove of kicking field goals.
“He’s an older guy,” Mullen said. “He made a (47-yard) field goal in a New Year’s Day bowl game, so I think when you have that to go back on, probably hopefully it’s like riding a bike.”
Bell also established a single-season school record for extra points made and attempted (43 of 44) as a freshman. Sobiesk broke both records last season by going 56 of 59.
Bell rarely kicked field goals in practice last year. He said he worked on them midway through the season and warmed up for field goals before the Alabama game, but he hasn’t attempted one since his sophomore season.
Bell is trying not to think about the ones he missed. Instead, he wants to focus on the ones he made, especially the kick against Northwestern and the 47-yard field goal he made against LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a freshman.
“Just try to find that muscle memory back to where you know you hit a really good kick in a game,” Bell said. “Just try to find that again. Just do what you can do.”
Bell made three field goals against South Alabama and made two crucial kicks against Tennessee as a freshman.
Bell said the muscle memory came back to him fairly quickly, and that he felt comfortable after his first field goal attempt in the spring.
The Vicksburg native had a lot on his plate in his first year on campus. Along with kicking field goals, Bell was also tasked with kickoff duty. He had 64 kickoffs as a freshman and he admits there was a lot going through his mind.
That’s not the case this year.
“I’m more mentally stable for it now,” Bell said. “A few years ago, it was a lot. Going out there for a field goal and then having to kick off, my mind was just going all over the place. Now I’m just one mind-set. Get the job done.”
Bell has competition from sophomore Westin Graves and redshirt freshman Bryce Brown for the job of kicking field goals. Graves missed the only field goal attempt of his MSU career.
“I have really good competition,” Bell said. “Bryce Brown and Westin Graves are doing a tremendous job, so day in and day out I have to bring my ‘A’ game. All three of us are hitting it pretty well.”
Special Teams
NOTE: This depth chart is unofficial and reflects action in Mississippi State’s first practices.
Kicker lost: Evan Sobiesk
Kick/punt returners lost: Robert Johnson, Jameon Lewis
Field Goals: Devon Bell (Sr.), Westin Graves (Soph.), Bryce Brown (R-Fr.)
Kickoffs: Logan Cooke (Soph.), Devon Bell (Sr.)
Punts: Logan Cooke (Soph.), Devon Bell (Sr.)
Long snapper: Winston Chapman (Sr.), Hunter Bradley (Jr.)
Holder: Dak Prescott (Sr.), Devon Bell (Sr.)
Punt returner: Will Redmond (Sr.), Fred Ross (Sr.), Donald Gray (Soph.)
Kick returner: Fred Ross (Jr.), Will Redmond (Sr.)
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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